Monday, December 7, 2009

It has happened in our house and thanks to damn Google Search, I had a lot of explaining to do to one very questioning 9 year old boy.

The time I have been dreading is fast approaching and no matter how sad it makes me to think about it, or what I do to make this magic time last... it's inevitable. My little boy is growing up and is questioning, and I mean REALLY questioning whether or not Santa is real. (You have no idea how sad this makes me.)

For a few years he has been told by some children at school that Santa is not real and it's just your parents putting gifts under the tree, and each year he laughs it off and doesn't even think twice about it. Because he has never had a single doubt about Santa in that cute little noggin of his. (If you asked him, he would tell you that he saw Santa with his own two eyes! And he did, last year thanks to a Dad and brother-in-law that didn't mind taking turns wearing a Santa suit at 1:00 in the morning at each others houses!)

But not this year. There has been something very different about the athlete this year. The first sign: no Christmas list was made, until the coach and I asked him to write one.

Second, lots of talk about how people at school say how Santa isn't real. And I mean LOTS of talk about this!

Third, a few nights ago while the kids and I were relaxing in the living room after daycare had closed, the athlete was playing on the computer, (which we keep out in the open in the living room for reasons just like this...)

All of sudden the athlete pipes up and says in a really confused voice, "What the heck is this guy talking about? He says it's scientifically impossible for reindeer to fly!!!!"

At this shocking remark my head instinctively whipped over to look at what he was doing and the little stinker had performed a Google search to see whether or not Santa was real!!!

Damn technology and the people who teach children how to use it!!!!

Ok, not really but come on!! This is what parents are up against today!! So word of caution for all you parents out there raising kids in this technologically overloaded society!! When children have questions and they are not sure if they should believe their parents they can and will turn to computers now!!

Thank goodness for my non-doubting six year old who justified this new tid-bit of info by calling the man on the computer an idiot and saying that "everyone knows that reindeer fly", before going back to watching Sponge Bob, totally unfazed by what he had just said.

So anyway, I jump up and yell at him to "X" out of that site immediately and then proceed to take the computer away for one week because he performed a google search, which he is not allowed to do without our permission. (Crazy things pop up on these types of searches if your not careful about what you type in!)

Shocked and not sure how to proceed I tried to explain that some people don't believe in the Christmas spirit and therefore they say things about Santa not being real. But we believe in the spirit and we know that Santa is real. (I did a terrible job at this by the way! I was so panicked and flustered I just said the first things that came into mymind.)

Apparently my answer didn't cut it with him because later in the week he brought the subject up again to the coach when they were alone in the car. He asked my husband why some people believe and some don't. And do you know what my husbands reply was?

He calmly said to him: "Do you believe in Jesus?" To which the athlete replied, "yes".

Then he asked him, "Does everyone believe in Jesus?" The athlete said "No".

He followed that up with, "Does that mean you should question whether or not Jesus is real, or do you know in your heart that Jesus is real no matter what other people say? The athlete said "No, I have no doubt that Jesus is real."

The coach finished it up with, "Well there you go, now you have your answer. If you choose to believe in something, it doesn't matter what others say." (This is yet another reason why I love this man so much!!)

It was the answer the athlete was looking for. It settled the debate. We are safe this year at least! But I know we don't have much more time. I am really going all out this year and cherishing what will probably be our last year with both children completely believing in the Christmas magic and wonder.

I know I won't be sad forever. I know that it is another reminder that my children are doing what they are suppose to be doing... growing up, but I can tell you from my own experience that some milestones are easier to accept than others. And right now, this one seems so hard.

2 comments:

I think there's a cute website out there that tracks Santa's trip on Christmas Eve. We will definitely be pulling up that site in our Trenches! Eldest is right on the edge of not believing, but I want to make the magic last as long as possible!